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Fareeha Amari's commitment to duty runs in her blood. She comes from a long line of highly decorated soldiers and burns with the desire to serve with honor.

As a child, Fareeha dreamed of following in her mother's footsteps and joining the global peacekeeping force, Overwatch. She enlisted in the Egyptian army, and her dogged persistence and tactical prowess caused her to rise up through the officer ranks. She was a courageous leader and earned the loyalty of all who served under her. With her exemplary record, Fareeha was well placed to join the ranks of Overwatch, but before she had that opportunity, Overwatch was disbanded.

After leaving the army with a commendation for distinguished service, she was offered employment with Helix Security International, a private security firm contracted to defend the artificial intelligence research facility beneath the Giza Plateau. The top-secret facility was touted as vital to the safety of not only the region but countries across the globe. Fareeha gladly accepted the choice assignment and received training in the Raptora Mark VI, an experimental combat suit designed for rapid mobility and devastating firepower.

Under the call sign "Pharah," she works to safeguard the AI installation. Though she mourns Overwatch's passing, she still dreams of fighting the good fight and making a difference on a global scale.

All seasonal event items, which are marked with special event icons ( • • • • • ), are only available to be unlocked either through their respective Loot Boxes or by Credits within the event's duration.During the event, newly-introduced event items cost three times as much as non-event items of the same rarity, while returning seasonal items are unlocked at the regular price. Items which are obtained from an external source are marked with Blizzard icons () and their requirements are noted below.

Fareeha Amari is the daughter of Ana Amari, one of Overwatch's founders and a world-class sniper. She was taught by Ana how to fight and how to protect her loved ones. Fareeha wanted to take after her mother and work as an Overwatch agent, but that was exactly what Ana did not want for her daughter and this strained their relationship. Later, her mother was declared K.I.A. in a hostage rescue mission. Fareeha enlisted in the Egyptian military and rose through the ranks, but Overwatch was disbanded before she could join.

Helix Security International offered Fareeha a job as a pilot of the Raptora Mark IV Combat Suit and she accepted. Fareeha, now using the call sign "Pharah", received training in the combat suit, and eventually became lieutenant of her squadron. Her base of operations was in the Giza Plateau, where the God ProgramAnubis was quarantined.

The Anubis AI managed to break free, and Pharah's squadron was sent in to disable it. Though they were successful, much of the squadron died in the fight, including its captain, Khalil. Pharah was promoted to captain as a result.[4]

Recently, Fareeha received a letter from her thought-to-be-dead mother, explaining why her mother chose to hide and Ana's thought on being a soldier and a mother.

In recent Christmas, Fareeha was seen at a restaurant dining with her father Sam in Canada.[1][5]

In a recently released voice line interaction, it is revealed that Sam does not know Ana is actually alive. When Fareeha asks why Ana has not told her husband anything yet, Ana says it is up to her what Sam knows.

Pharah is loyal and honorable, holding duty above all else. She's strictly determined willing to keep the peace no matter what. She also has an affinity for jokes and puns, as shown in the in-game voicelines "Fly like an Egyptian" and "Sorry, but I need to jet". However, Pharah is a bit arrogant at times, as she claims to "always get her prey."

Pharah seemed to have a strained relationship with her mother before her death. She had originally thought that Ana would not have been proud of her due to Ana's original strict teaching methods. Nonetheless, even before receiving the letter, Pharah always looked up to Ana with a deep respect, even going as far as getting a tattoo in honor of her mother. She understands the meaning of their tattoos and keeps her actions to preserve that purpose.

Before Anubis broke free, Pharah never really knew which was more important: completing the mission or protecting her team. However, after dealing with the incident, she learned to preserve both the innocent and her team more generally and grew even more resolute to follow in her mother's footsteps.

Though she never got the chance to join Overwatch, Pharah seems to be a fan of them, judging by her conversation of telling Reinhardt about the poster of him on her wall.

Pharah can be more effective on console than on PC because opponents cannot "flick up" to check the sky for her. This means that flying ambushes are more likely to succeed.

Never stop firing Pharah's rockets, especially at the objective. Enemies will have to avoid the rocket's splash damage, so they will have to flee.

Rocket Launcher

Pairing her Rocket Launcher with the abilities to Jump Jet and Hover makes for a devastating combination.

The splash damage from Pharah's rockets can hit enemies just around corners. Aim rockets at the floor to make them explode in close proximity to the enemy.

In exchange for splash damage, Pharah cannot land critical hits. While this makes precision aim less important, it is still best to go for direct hits, as they do enough extra damage to justify the added risk of missing entirely.

This is also effective against a Genji that is Deflecting, for Pharah can hit the ground next to him to deal damage without risking her rockets being deflected back at her.

Firing rockets into a small room with enemies can be a guarantee for a couple of kills. The splash damage would be enough to damage multiple enemies at once.

Jump Jet

Jump Jet is best used to escape an enemy's line of sight or to quickly gain an advantageous position.

Inexperienced players tend to spam Jump Jet by always using it when it is off cooldown. This is a big mistake, as it deprives Pharah of an escape option when she needs one.

Concussive Blast

Concussive Blast has a strong knockback effect. She can use it to; knock enemies off the map, boost herself into any direction, or she can even save teammates caught in close combat by the enemy.

Pharah can move across maps quickly by using Concussive Blast to boost herself forward then using Jump Jet shortly after.

Barrage

Pharah's Ultimate is very powerful but also makes her vulnerable, as it offers her no defense and renders her immobile while using it.

Use it at a choke point, or try to flank enemies to surprise them.

If Pharah uses Barrage while standing on a moving piece of the environment (such as a floating pad on Volskaya Industries), she will move with that object during her Ultimate.

Keep in mind that hitting any obstacle, be it stationary or moving, that is close enough to Pharah will end up in Pharah damaging or even killing herself.

Pharah's Barrage is very effective when attacking enemies under a crowd control ability, for example, Graviton Surge, Halt, or Blizzard. This keeps targets in a place where the damage can be centralized which increases effectiveness.

Her low speed makes her a target whose movements are fairly easy to predict in the air.

Pharah can be weak against heroes with Hitscan attacks, depending on the level of player skill in the match. A Hitscan hero's shots will strike Pharah instantly, whereas they can dodge Pharah's rockets; however, Pharah's rockets are easier to aim than most Hitscan shots because of the splash damage they can inflict.

Because the player has no control over Pharah's rocket barrage other than aiming it (meaning she cannot stop the rockets once her Ultimate has started), Genji can easily reflect her rockets and turn them against her. However, the splash damage will most likely kill the Genji.

Being one of the first heroes Blizzard Entertainment designed, Pharah went through many iterations, including some with bulkier mech suits inspired by Gundam and lighter suits influenced by real fighter pilots.[6]

Pharah's real name, Fareeha, is a variant of the name Farah (or Farrah), the homophone to her code name. The name means "happiness", or "joy", in Arabic. Her last name, Amari, is of Sanskrit origin and means "eternal", while in Arabic, it means "strength" or "virtue".

Her call sign, Pharah, is a reference to her Egyptian descent, as "Pharah" is very similar to "Pharaoh". Her personality traits are also linked to the traits expected of a Pharaoh.[7]

Pharah's tattoo around her eye (called an "udjat" or "wedjat") is the Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection. Horus is a sky-god, usually depicted as either a falcon or a falcon-headed man. This theme extends to Pharah's falcon-like helmet, wings, and flying ability. The Egyptian Pharaohs were also considered the "living Horus".[7]

The Anubis skin is a reference to Anubis, the Egyptian god of embalming and the afterlife.[7]

Both of these skins replace her default projectiles with explosive stone arrowheads. It could not be seen in gameplay because the rockets/arrowheads travel faster than human's eyes can perceive, but players can catch sight of it clearly in the Highlight Intro Barrage.

When Pharah spawns with the Thunderbird or Raindancer skin, she says: 'Thunderbird Online' instead of saying her normal line: 'Raptora Online'.

Some of Pharah's sprays (like the "Scarab" and "Wings" sprays) are also linked to Ancient Egyptian culture and myths.[7]

Pharah's quote "Dead or alive, you're coming with me" is a reference to the film RoboCop, in which the quote is said by the main character.

Pharah's Voice Line "Rocket jump? That sounds dangerous!" is a reference to the video game technique called Rocket Jumping, most notably featured in Quake and Team Fortress 2. In those games, rocket launchers can be used to perform higher jumps by jumping and blasting the floor, which is rather similar to Pharah's Jump Jet ability. Pharah can still imitate this technique with her Concussive Blast ability but the impulse is only horizontal. It can be done using her launcher as well but is not advised as it has little propulsion and will damage her.

Pharah's Voice Line and spray "Play nice, play Pharah" are the only line and spray in the game which explicitly breaks the fourth wall.

The line "Play nice, play Pharah" is a reference to the third of 'the eight core values' of Blizzard Entertainment: "Play nice; Play fair".

Pharah's Voice Line "Fly like an Egyptian!" is a reference to the song Walk like an Egyptian by The Bangles. Her other voice line, "Flying the Friendly Skies", is a reference to several United Airlines slogans throughout their history.